Spring seat construction



Sept. 6, 1932. P. E. KROEHLER 1,876,305

SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION Filed July 20. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 222/672 Z071 Z 28 rZJG'OeZ Z97,

P 1932- P. E. KROEHLER 1,876,305

SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION Filed July 20, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 III Patented Sept. 6, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PETER E. KROEHLER, OF RIVERSIDE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO KROEHLER MFG. 00., OF

NAIERVILLE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION Application filed July 20, 1931. Serial No. 552,013.

This invention relates to spring seat construction and is particularly adapted for use gliith davenports, chairs, sofa beds, and the An object of the invention is to provide a resilient spring seat of sturdy construction which may be economically constructed and readily assembled and which is substantially sound proof. Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is illustrated, in its preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of the spring supporting structure embodying my invention, the detail construction of the springs, etc. resting upon said supporting structure being omitted; Fig. 2, a broken detail sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a perspective View of one end of a supporting fabric strip provided with an end pocket; Fig. 4, a perspective view of a metal plate adapted to be received in the pocket of the webbing strip; Fig. 5, a transverse sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6, a broken sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7, a perspective view of a hanger strip; Fig. 8, a perspective view of a swivel loop adapted to engage said hanger;

Fig. 9, a perspective view of a swivel hook also adapted to engage the hanger; Fig. 10,

a broken perspective view of one end of the supporting metal strap; Fig. 11, a perspective View of the other end of-said supporting strap; and Fig. 12, an enlarged sectional View showing the method of securing the metal strap to the lowermost ring of the upholstery spring.

In the illustration given, A represents the frame of a seat, which is supported by legs A; and B represents a cover of burlap or other suitable material which covers the spring structure and is secured to the rails of the frame.

The frame A may be of any suitable form. In the illustration given, it comprises front and rear rails 1, and side rails 2. Transverse cross pieces 3 connect the front and rear rails 1 at intermediate points.

In forming a spring supporting structure, I prefer to employ longitudinal strips of webbing 4 which rest upon transverse metal straps 5. The ends of the fabric strips 4 are connected by helical springs 6 to side rails 52, one end of the spring 6 being hooked through the eye of a metal screw 7. The other hooked end of the spring 6 preferably extends through a'perforated plate 8 and a perforated end 9 of. the fabric strip which is looped to form a pocket 10 for the plate 8. As shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4, the' end of the fabric strip 4 is turned back upon itself and the end portion stitched to the main body of the fabric, thus providing a pocket 10 adapted to receive metal bar 8.

The fabric strips 4 are preferably wide enough to provide a seat for the lower portion of the double-cone or hour glass springs 11.

In the illustration given, the transverse metal straps 5 are hingedly connected to the front rail and by means of helical springs 6 to the rear rail of the seat. As shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 5, metal hangers 12 are secured to the front and rear rails. Preferably, the hangers are in the form illustrated in Fig. 7 and are provided with groovedhinged seats 13 adapted to receive either of the connecting members shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The connecting loop 14, shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 8, is received within the groove 13 of hanger 12, and at its other end is connected to a hook of the helical spring 6. As shown in Fig. 1, the other hook of the helical 6 extends through the perforated end of metal strap 5. It will be observed that in the construction illustrated, the metal strap 5 has a single perforation at its rear end and a pair of perforations at its forward end.

The hook connection 15, illustrated in detail in Fig. 9, is provided with a pair of curved extensions which are adapted to extend through the pair of openings at the forward end of strap 5. The front portion 16 of the connecting member 15 is swivably received within the groove 13 of hanger 12.

It is preferred to employ with the supporting structure upholstery springs of the double-cone or hour glass type, such springs affording greater resiliency. The use of relatively wide webbing strips 4, as stated above, provides a broad base support for the lowermost round of the spring and thus permits the use of double-cone springs. As illustrated more clearly in Fig. 5, the relatively wide ring ends of springs 11 rest at the top upon the burlap or covering B, and at their base upon the webbing strips 4. In order to hold the strips of webbing securely against the base ends of springs 11 and also to secure the metal straps 5 to the rings 11, I prefer to extrude from the straps clenching lugs 17 which may be turned to engage the base portions of the springs. As shown more clearly in Figs. 5, 10, 11 and 12, the springs 11 are seated so that the base round of the springs encircles a pair of spaced clenching lugs 17. The lugs are then bent outwardly and downwardly, as shown in Fig. 12, to lock the springs securely to the straps.

The springs 11 may be secured together at their top by the'usual perimetric frame 18 and tie members 19 may be employed to secure the frame and individual springs 11 to the front and rear rails 1, as shown more clearly in Figs. 5 and 6. To connect the top portions of the springs, I prefer to employ short helicals 20 which are provided at their ends with hooks adapted to engage the top rings of adjacent springs. The connecting helicals 20 may be crossed if desired. They cooperate with the yielding spring support.

ing structure already described, to provide a sturdy and uniformly yielding spring seat construction.

In assembling the spring seat structure, the hangers-12 are secured to the front and rear rails 1 of the seat by means of nails passed through the perforations thereof, the loop elements 14 being received within the grooves of the hangers on the rear rail of the seat, and the hook members 15 being held Within the grooves 13 of the front hangers. The forward end of each metal strap 5, which is provided with a pair of perforations, is secured to the curved ends of hooks l5 and the rear end of the metal strap, which is provided with a single perforation, is engaged by the curved end of spring helical 6, the other end of the spring helical engaging the metal loop 14 which is secured to the rear rail of the seat. The lugs 17, at this stage of the operations, are in substantially vertical position. The fabric strips 4 are then laid upon the group of spaced metal straps 5 and are secured at their ends by means of hooks 6 to the side rails 2. The double-cone upholstery springs 11 are then .placed in position so that the base portion of each spring encircles a pair of spaced clenching lugs 17 The lugs 17 are then bent outwardly and downwardly so as to lock the spring securely to the metal strap. At the same time, the webbing strip which extends between the pair of clenching lugs is secured against lateral displacement.

The topportion of the spring seat may then be secured by means of tie members 19 and the helical connectors 20 placed in position.

It will be observed that my improved spring supporting structure provides a broad fabric seat for the lower end of the upholstery springs, thus enabling me to use springs of the double-cone type. At the same time the webbing serves to steady or brace the transverse metal straps and also renders the construction sound proof. The expense of the supporting structure is reduced by employing considerably less webbing, while at the same time webbing is provided at the essential points where it serves to deaden the sound and to brace the supporting metal straps. The yieldingly attached metal straps and webbing strips cooperate with the double-cone springs and helical connectors to provide a sturdy spring seat construction having a uniform and high degree of resiliency.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. In combination, a frame equipped with i front, rear and side rails, hangers equipped with metal loops secured to said front and rear rails, metal supporting straps, connecting members pivotally en aging the hangers on said front rail and re easably connected to the front ends of said straps, metal loops engaging the loops of the hangers on said rear rail, and connecting helicals engaging said metal loops on the rear ends of said straps.

2. In combination, a frame comprising front, rear and side rails, metal hanger strips connected to said front and rear rails, said strips affording hinge loops, a plurality of metal straps, each of said-straps being provided at one end with a plurality of perforations, a loop connecting member engaging each of the hinge loops of the connector on said rear rail, spring helicals connecting said metal loops to the rear ends of said straps,

and hook connectors connecting the forward ends of said straps to the hangers on the front rail, said hook members being provided with a hinge portion adapted to be received within the hinge loop of said hangers and having also spaced hook ends adapted to engage perforations in the forward ends of said straps.

3. In combination with a frame comprising front, rear and side rails, a hanger attache to a rail, said hanger afiording a hinge loop, a metal strap provided at one end with spaced perforations, a connecting member equipped with a hinge pivot engaging said hinge loop.

and with spaced hooks adapted to engage the perforations in said strap, and means for connecting the other end of said strap to an oppositely disposed rail.

PETER E. KROEHLER. 

